SMALL Office

hi,
I need advice on what type of network to setup (PEER TO PEER OR DOMAIN).I
have 4 worksations & one server that will hold an application. Four
worksations will connect to the server via mapped drive for accessing the
dental application. WHAT IS THE EASIST TO IMPLEMENT & ADMINISTER?

Your advice is very much appreciated!
Thank you,
S

 

If centralized IT administration and management is important to you, in
addition to security and control (e.g. AD Group Policy), an Active Directory
domain based network is unquestionably the answer. Particularly when growth
should be planned for in the setup (e.g. beyond your initial 4).

It is not difficult but skilled personnel (in-house or otherwise) must be
available to help develop a solution that meets your current and future
business needs, not to mention running the day to day operations.

Do let us know if this helps. Thanks!

 

More than 10 machine: DOMAIN
Less than 10 machines: DOMAIN (but you could use a workgroup)

Domains are always better than a workgroup. You don't have to be an expert
to have a Domain as long as you are smart enough to not fool with things if
you don't know what they are and what damage you could do with it. Creating
User Accounts and granting NTFS permissions is simple and that is probably
all you would be needing to do.

All the other vast abilities of Active Directory, Group Policy, etc, aren't
going to do anything and arent' going to matter if you just don't use them
and leave them alone until you know how to use them. With 4 machines you
aren't going to do much worthwile with those things anyway.

 

thanks for the great advice guys!
I want to keep it really simple, since i will have to support this network.
I was thinking of a workgroup with 4 client machine and one server (win2003).
Since only ONE application will reside on the server, wouldn't it be simple
to create a workgroup and create accounts on the server ONLY for the clients
to access this application?

 

Put your dental program on a real server and map a drive for all users to
access the program. For the money and the ease of use, buy a server with
SBS 2003 pre-installed and buy a backup method with it. You can get new,
entry level, server hardware with SBS software pre-installed for much less
than $2K from Dell or HP. If you buy Windows 2003 server, you'll spend $800
just for a 5 user Windows 2003 Server software and then you'll need the
hardware. If you just need the server software, the 5 user SBS 2003 Server
Standard version is only $495 and it includes a simple firewall, email
server, fax server, file and folder server, and much more. It is targeted
towards smaller environments but gives you the features of a $10k Windows
2003 Server with all the trimmin's.

Don't be misled. Administering any computer network can be a challenge,
even for experienced admins, however, with SBS, you'll find wizards and a
nifty user interface that helps walk you through most of the common tasks
such as sharing files and folders, setting up Internet connectivity, adding
users, email and data backup. All that hard work and information is
valuable. Be sure to protect it. Buy a tape drive!

Eric